Dayan: I can betray De Lima for the sake of law, truth

Ronnie Dayan on Thursday told lawmakers during a hearing that he is willing to turn his back on Senator Leila de Lima, his lover for seven years, for the sake of law and truth.

At the resumption of the House justice committee’s hearing on the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison, Dayan bared how he received money from suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa several times for De Lima.

During the hearing, Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro asked Dayan if his relationship with De Lima, which began in 2007 when she was still a private lawyer, was based on romantic love.

“At ang iyong pag-ibig kay De Lima ay wagas, dalisay at matatag?” Castro asked, to which Dayan responded: “Parang ganun po sir.”

However, Dayan wavered when asked if there is a reason for him to betray De Lima.

“Depende po, sir, kasi yung pag-ibig ko na wagas ay hindi niya sinuklian ng wagas din na pag-ibig,” he said.

“Hindi mo maaaring ipagkanulo si De Lima?” Castro asked.

“Alang-alang sa batas po at katotohanan, kaya ko siyang ipagkanulo,” Dayan said.

Dayan has admitted to receiving money five times from Espinosa for De Lima in 2014.

He said Espinosa handed him money for De Lima once in August 2014, once in October 2014, and three times in November 2014. The first four times of their meeting was at a shopping mall in Pasay City. The last time Espinosa gave money was at the parking lot of the place where Espinosa was then staying in Baguio City.

Despite seeing Espinosa several times, Dayan said he was unaware that the person whom he was receiving money from was a drug lord.

He said he was only obeying De Lima’s orders whenever he was sent to meet with Espinosa.  —KBK, GMA News